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Italian grammar

CEFR A2

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Italian Plural Spelling: amiche, amici, figli and the Hard C

By Michael McGettrickUpdated 11 October 2026

Italian spells what it says. That creates a small problem in the plural: swapping the last vowel can change the sound of the consonant before it. A handful of rules patch it, and they are spelling rules, not grammar: the gender and the -i or -e ending work exactly as on Italian plurals and gender.

Quick check

Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.

Spot the mistake

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The whole system on one screen

the plural endingthe h that is written but not saidWhat do the colours mean?
SingularPluralRule
feminine -ca, -ga: add h
-co, stress 2nd-last: hard
-co, stress earlier: soft
the famous exception
unstressed -: one i
stressed -ìo: two i's
-cia after a consonant: no i
-cia after a vowel: keeps i

The sound to protect: c and g are hard before a, o and u, and soft before e and i, like the ch in church and the j in jam.

-ca and -ga: always add an h

Every feminine noun or adjective in -ca or -ga adds an h in the plural, so the sound stays hard:

amica, amiche: the h keeps the k sound
  • . - My friends are here.
  • . - There are two banks in the square.
  • - two white houses
  • - two long roads

Without the h, amice would be said with a ch sound and stop being the same word.

-co and -go: it depends on the stress

The masculine plural in -i puts an i after the c or g, so the question is whether Italian adds the h. The stress decides, most of the time:

StressedPluralEnglish
2nd-to-last: giò-cogames
2nd-to-last: fuò-cofires
2nd-to-last: luò-goplaces
earlier: mè-doctors
  • . - Children love games.
  • . - The doctors are good.

Then the exceptions, too common to ignore. , and are stressed on the second-to-last syllable and still soften:

  • Marco . - Marco's friends are nice.
  • . - The enemies are here.

Learn those three by name and let the stress rule carry the rest.

Adjectives follow the same rules

SingularPluralEnglish
tired
long
nice

. They are tired. . They are nice. Simpàtico is stressed early, so it softens.

-io: one i or two?

When the i of -io is not stressed, the plural keeps only one i:

SingularPluralEnglish
sons
eyes
shops
offices
  • . - I have two sons (or two children).
  • . - She has blue eyes.

When the i carries the stress, as in zì-o, both survive: . I have two uncles.

-cia and -gia: look at the letter before

These only matter for spelling, since the sound is the same either way. After a consonant the i drops; after a vowel it usually stays:

SingularPluralLetter before
n, a consonant
c, a consonant
g, a consonant
i, a vowel
i, a vowel
  • . - I'm buying two oranges.
  • . - The shirts are white.

When the i itself is stressed, as in farmacì-a, it always stays: , the chemists.

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
amice -ca always adds the h
amichi is the exception
i figlii unstressed - keeps one i
i gioci stressed before -co: stays hard
arancie consonant before -cia: no i

What to do next

  1. Say , and , aloud until the pair sounds right.
  2. Sort the -co words you know by where the stress falls.
  3. Go back to Italian plurals and gender for the endings themselves.

Practise: test yourself

Build the word

0/5

Build the plural from its pieces.

  1. l'amica, plural

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  2. la banca, plural

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  3. il gioco, plural

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  4. il medico, plural

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  5. il figlio, plural

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

Sort into groups

0/7

Does the -co or -go noun keep its hard sound in the plural?

Tap a word, then the group it belongs in.

Spot the mistake

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Tap the mistake.

Pick the right one

0/4

Pick the right plural.

  1. il lago (two lakes)

  2. lo zio (two uncles)

  3. la camicia (two shirts)

  4. l'arancia (two oranges)

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Frequently asked questions

Why is the plural of ?
Because c before e sounds like the ch in church. Amice would change the word's sound, so Italian adds an h, which is silent, to keep the c hard: . The same happens with -ga: , . Every feminine noun and adjective in -ca and -ga does this: , .
Why is the plural of and not amichi?
Because is an exception to its own rule. Nouns in -co stressed on the second-to-last syllable usually keep the hard sound ( , ), but , and soften: , , . They are too common to ignore, so learn those three by name.
How do you know whether -co becomes -chi or -ci?
Look at the stress. If it falls on the second-to-last syllable, as in fuò-co and giò-co, the plural usually keeps the hard sound: , . If it falls earlier, as in mè-, it usually softens: . It is a rule of thumb with exceptions, but it gets most common words right.
What is the plural of in Italian?
. When the i of -io is not stressed, the plural keeps only one i: , ; , ; , . When the i is stressed, as in zì-o, both survive: , .
Do adjectives follow the same spelling rules?
Yes. An adjective in -ca adds the h like a noun (, ), and one in -co follows the stress rule: , keeps the hard sound, while , softens. is they are tired; is they are nice.